Chapter 5
Melinda
Holy crap.
I was moving. I was moving away from my home, the house I grew up in. I had a suitcase in my hand and was waving goodbye to Lindsey from my private room on the train.
Yep. I was traveling the old−fashion way. I wanted to see some of the country. There had to be more to this life than New York City, and I was ready to see it. Not that I hadn’t traveled the world, but I’d never lived anywhere other than New York. When Ben called about the position at Bates Resort, I did a little happy dance in my room. I couldn’t believe I got the job! And when he asked how soon I could be there?
I had already had my suitcase open, throwing stuff in it left and right. Thinking about it now, I probably didn’t need to bring my teddy bear, Mr. Pig, that I’d had since I was a baby. The thought of leaving him behind on this journey was just blasphemous. Yeah, I was a grown woman with a teddy bear, so what?
The train started to inch forward, and Lindsey walked with it for a second, making me wonder if I was making the right decision leaving my best friend behind. I mouthed that I loved her, and she did the same until the train started to gain too much speed, and Lindsey was officially left behind.
It was just me now.
I leaned against the cushioned seat, stuffed my sadness down, and glanced around my room. The walls were rustic, and a small chandelier hung above, letting the light of the sun glitter from the crystals dangling, and the reflection swam along the bench across from me. A knock at the door made me wipe the small, singular tear underneath my eye, and I plastered on a smile. “Come in!” I shouted.
When the door opened, an older gentleman pushing a cart full of goodies smiled. “Hello, sweetheart.” Aw, his voice shook from old age. He reminded me of a grandpa. “Would you like anything from the cart? Or a menu from the kitchen?” he handed me a lamented blue brochure, and when I saw coffee and strawberry waffles, I was sold.
I pointed to the waffles. "I'd love those with extra whipped cream and strawberries. And black coffee. Would you happen to have cinnamon and honey?”
"A girl after my own heart. Of course, I do." He took the menu from me and placed it back on the silver cart. I watched him as he poured the carafe, wondering what brought him to work on the train. He looked adorable in his dark blue outfit with a gold button and a little circular hat delicately placed on his grey head of hair. When he handed me the coffee, the cup shook, and some of the dark brew dripped over the edges onto the saucer.
It didn’t bother me.
“Thank you,” I reached for the coffee and delicately placed it on the table in front of me. “I’m curious, and you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but why aren’t you retired? Why are you here?” I spread my arm out to represent what I meant by here.
“It’s fine. I don’t mind at all, dear. Well, after my sweet Lenora died five years ago, bless her heart, I didn’t have it in me to stay at home all the time. Plus, this way I get to see some of the country.
“I’m so sorry about your wife.” What it was like to lose someone you were in love with, I didn’t know, but I did know how it was to lose a loved one, and I’d yet to discover something that hurt so bad.
“That’s kind. Thank you. I’ll be back in a few minutes with your waffles.”
“Can’t wait.” I really couldn’t. I was starved.
The cute man left, closing the door as he pushed the cart down the aisle toward the other rooms, and I sipped my coffee, watching the outdoors pass me by. It was gorgeous. The trees were tall, the brown grass dead from the cold winter, but the blue sky against it made it all look serene and otherworldly. When people thought of New York, they only thought of the city, but this state had the most beautiful lands. It held more than the hustle and bustle of the city. It was gorgeous, and now I was leaving it all behind.
My heart clenched with nostalgia. I was so eager to leave that I forgot what I was leaving behind. A few tears fell as I said goodbye to the place where I was born and raised. This was something I had to do for me. I wanted more now. I needed more.
“Oh, are you okay?” the older gentleman asked as he returned with my waffles.
I wiped the tears again and smiled at the old man, “I’m fine. Just closing a chapter of a book is all.”
He placed the waffles down and patted my shoulder. “You’ll write a new one. It will be all right.”
He had no idea how much I’d needed to hear that, and when he left, I looked down to see the whipped cream made into a smile and the strawberries as eyes. How he’d rearranged it while I wasn’t looking, I didn’t know. He was just the sweetest, and the small gesture made me feel a lot better. Not five minutes later, my plate was clean. I curled up on the bench with a blanket, pulled out a book by James Patterson, and got lost in his words. By the time I looked up from the pages, sunset had come and gone. Stars peeked out from the night sky, and staring at them, I felt lighter. Already the distance between myself and New York made me realize I’d made the right decision.
My mind drifted back to the conversation I had with Ben when he called to hire me.
“Why should I hire you?” he asked after we joked about the skype camera’s working for one of us but not both us. It took some time, but we finally figured it out.
“I’ve been in the marketing industry for a long time because of my dad and I think I can bring experience and education to the resort. I have my Master’s in Marketing from NYU. I’ve helped build my dad’s company from the time he thought he could trust me at sixteen, because I could drive and accompany him to meetings.”
“Any ideas to that you think will put the resort on the map?” Ben scribbles something down on a sheet of paper beside him on the table.
“Like all good things, businesses take time. With it just now opening, I think it is important to focus on the customers. What can we bring them? How can we make their stay the best possible? What can we promise them to make them return?”
He places his pen down and rubs a hand over his face. “We have top of the line everything.”
